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The scholar told a caller during a broadcast on the Bobbersmill-based station: “If it is a non-Muslim doctor who is giving the advice, well their advice carries no weight. It has no importance whatsoever.”

Archive photo of Radio Dawn, run entirely by volunteers.

The show, which broadcasts in Punjabi, was translated and Ofcom found the issue to be "potentially harmful", "discriminatory and potentially offensive”.

The caller wanted to find out when it was allowed under Islamic law for a diabetic taking insulin to follow their doctor's advice to fast in the winter, when the days are shorter.

Muslims typically fast during Ramadan, which fell in May and June this year, but there are exemptions due to ill health.

The scholar said: "Look, if the doctor is a Muslim and a religious person, then his advice carries weight.

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"But if he is not a Muslim... a non-Muslim doctor will tell you to stop fasting even if you have a minor headache.

“What you have to do is check who is giving the advice. A proper Muslim doctor who is religious will not give you wrong advice.”

Ofcom launched an investigation after a listener complained the scholar's advice was dangerous, and concluded the station had breached two rules against the broadcast of harmful and offensive material.

It slammed the Mufti for saying that Muslims with “mild diabetes” were not permitted to give up fasting.

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An Ofcom spokesman said: "Our investigation found that encouraging people with diabetes to fast and ignore medical advice was potentially harmful and offensive.

“As a result, we found the programme broke our rules on generally accepted standards.”

Dr Irfan Malik, a doctor in Sherwood and member of Nottingham Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, said "medical advice should only be given by a qualified medical practitioner".

Dr Irfan Malik.

He added: "It does not have to be a GP or a practice nurse [but] someone attached to the practice who is qualified to give the advice.

"I do think that, unless the scholar was advised to give that advice, it would otherwise be inappropriate.

"You should not differentiate between Muslim doctors and non-Muslim doctors. You just have to see them as a medical practitioner. Faith should not come into it. Medical advice is medical advice at the end of the day."